The US organic food sales have witnessed staggering growth in the last ten years due to changing consumer lifestyle, wide range of variety and easy availability.
Aligning its manufacturer survey statistics for 2008 which is expected to be released towards the end of March 2009, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) said that the organic food sales in the US had grown robustly in the past few years, as reported by California Farm Bureau Federation.
Previously, the OTA had projected 18% growth in organic food sector for 2008, but it revised the projection to nearly 10% following the downfall in customer purchases in the later half of 2008. The Association further said that organic food sales soared at an annual rate of 14%-21% between 1998 and 2006. In 2007, the organic food sales surged to an estimated figure of $20 Billion.
While the US economy is severely hit by the economic downturn, market analysts and organic farmers are stating that the sales of organic foods will continue to grow, though at a slower pace. The growth anticipation for organic sales is supported by the fact that currently there is an inclination towards the purchase of ingredients for preparing meals rather than buying packaged food. The core organic buyers are not willing to stop buying organic food despite the considerable price hike ranging between 10%-30% in last 2-3 years.
Further, wide range of variety and availability make industrial organic food popular among people. As industrial organic food produces on a large scale and transported throughout the year with no restrictions of seasonal changes, most of fruits and vegetables are readily available in every season.
Moreover, the pastoral organic food has a number of advantages like its production and transportation require very limited amount of fossil fuels. Although the organic food market has become a pillar of the US economy, the sector is still very small and growers have not reached the stage of over saturation.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “While the overall US food sales in the last ten years period has remained almost flat, the organic food sector recorded staggering growth, with positive outlook for future growth. Moreover, there is a decline in organic food sales, organic producers and grocers are optimistic that the sales would surge with changing lifestyle of people.”
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